Social work is divided into macro, mezzo and micro subcategories (Dewees & Lax, 2008). Macro-level interventions are provided on a large-scale basis to affect communities and care systems at large. An example of Macro social work is the effort to lobby for change in the health care law or the involvement in statewide activism to advocate for large-scale social policies. Social work exemplified on a macro basis distinguishes dedication to social services and the services from health professions such as psychiatric therapy. Thus, Macro-social works are essential in establishing the involvement of members in systemic changes. Mezzo social works are applied on an intermediate scale by focusing on neighborhoods, institution and other small scope groups. Examples of mezzo social works involve the focus on institutional change or community organizing. Although mezzo works are directed at solving social problems on a large social ground, it is evident that working on individual issues leads to amicable decisions when extending the services to larger societal scope. On the other hand, social work executed on the individual scope is referred to as Micro-social works. Micro-social works are the most adopted methodologies due to the nature of prevalent social works and the need of attending to socially distracted persons. It is imperative to understand that families are integral to achieving efficient micro-social works. Individual counseling on medical practice, especially on persons with mental health conditions is a good example of the intricacies involved in micro-social works. Sheila’s case provides a good illustration of how micro-management of a condition can improve the quality of a person’s life, and on a collective basis, Torey Hayden ensures macro participation through the collective client system that she adopts.
A client system refers to the collective group of persons that seek help from a social worker. Often, members of a client system relate to one another in one or more aspects, upon which they can depend on each other. With a well-formulated client system approach, a social worker gets clarity on the collective behavior exhibited by the members of the client system, which enables the social worker to handle better their predicaments in the long run. Social workers employ knowledge on the attention accorded to the micro, mezzo and macro social systems to impact the clients they receive while offering a variety of approaches that enrich the diversity of their clients. Such structures enable the imposition of the discipline required to expound the professionalism of the practice and the existing client systems. Torey Hayden’s deals with a client system comprising of disparately psychologically affected students. Apart from the six-year-old terribly disturbed Sheila, there is an 8-year-old Peter, who has an aggressive behavior emanating from a neurological disorder. There is also Tyler who is suicidal, an autistic Six-year-old Max, Freddie who is obese and mentally retarded, and Susannah who has schizophrenia. The system also comprises Sarah who was sexually abused by the father, a nine-year-old William who has an Obsessive-Compulsive disorder(OCD) and phobia of water, cars, vacuum cleaners, darkness and dust, and Guillermo, a nine-year-old blind but aggressive lad (Marlowe, 2006).
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As such, I will employ the insights underpinned in micro, mezzo, and macro frameworks of social work in contextualizing Sheila’s case. Compton and Galaway provide a systematic intervention model that outlines work in three gradual and distinct phases; the engagement phase, the contract phase that is inclusive of an assessment, and the Action phase that includes evaluation. A closer analysis of the case reveals that Hayden puts Sheila through various interventions processes mentioned above. During the engagement phase, Sheila joins Torey’s class in an unpleasant posture. Particularly, Sheila was disheveled and unkempt, and her clothes were not only dirty but also smelled of urine. Also, Sheila was disorderly owing to the tantrums and the violent outrages she threw through the session. It is also noted that Sheila gouged out the eyes of the aquarium fish (Marlowe, 2011). Nonetheless, after observing the predicaments of the child, Torey, sought to tackle her behavioral challenges by talking to her and allowing her to warm up herself. Though Sheila was at first hesitant, she later started talking to Torey, finding her to be her best friend in the class. It is through this engagement that Sheila developed the confidence to speak up in class. Being a micro-like social work, focusing on handling the case of the victim solely enhances the likelihood of achieving more profound results through the interventions. This means that without the individualized focus of handling Sheila’s situation, long-lasting understanding of her predicament is not guaranteed. Additionally, this extends to giving every specific student of her class the necessary attention they require, which portrays not only micro-social systems but also the ability to establish institutionalized social works, mezzo, on a firm foundation of a single intervention. Moreover, this engagement process involved thorough scrutiny of the past experiences Sheila had undergone, which predisposed her to the mental condition. Indeed, at the age of four, Sheila was abandoned by her eighteen-year-old mother, who left her with her neglectful and abusive father and left with Sheila’s two-year-old brother, Jimmie. It is certain that from her ordeal, Sheila grew in abject poverty and lacked the parental love, which is essential in shaping the child’s future and at the least, the necessities that would better her interaction in school. Prior to joining Torey’s institution, Sheila had almost killed a four-year-old boy by tying him against a tree and burning him intently.
Through the second phase of the intervention, Torey necessarily applies all mechanisms available in streamlining the life of her victim. She baths Sheila every day before she joins the class to do away with the urine smell, which was a distraction in class (Marlowe, 2006). In addition, Torey makes Sheila’s hair by shampooing and styling it with kiddie barrettes. As such, Sheila feels accepted in class, and her self-esteem rises. Sheila also feels that she is cared for not only in class but also by someone who takes up the motherly figure that she had lost. Through this contracting phase, Torey discovers specific things about Sheila. While she participated well in class, she had a dire focus for revenge. At one instance, a teacher scolds her and Sheila later invades the teacher’s room destructing property worth approximately $700. She also expressed major reluctance in handling paperwork. On the contrary, Sheila preferred handling the ordinary classwork such as stacking blocks, which revealed her smartness and talent, especially having spent a few months in first grade. Following this realization, Torey subjected Sheila through an Intelligence Quotient (IQ), which tested at 182. According to Torey, such an IQ was rarely present among Six-year-old children. Particularly, Torey maintains that for every 10000 children of Sheila’s age, only one attains such a threshold.
Further, Torey adopts extensive developments through the intervention process. These are the particular actions she put in ensuring that Sheila is not distracted from the already attained transformation progress. In a specific instance, the state hospital reports that a slot was open for Sheila and they could take care of her from there. However, Torey declined this offer through the help of his then-boyfriend chad, who is a lawyer. Subsequently, they win the case, and Torey continues taking care of Sheila. They even take her out for pizza following the victory. Through continuous interventions and assessments, Torey discovered one day that Sheila came to school looking unwell and distracted and spent substantial time in the bathroom. Afterward, Torey found that she was bleeding endlessly. Sheila disclosed that her uncle had tried to rape her and had cut her at a young age with his knife. Following hospitalization, Torey indicates in her 1995 sequel, The Tigers Child, that Sheila became infertile due to the incident (Marlowe, 2006). As such, Sheila was traumatized by the experience but dealt with it remarkably even though she refused to wear dresses for some time.
A more precise intervention model is the Generalist intervention model (GIM). GIM starts with the engagement processes where appropriate greetings are first accorded to the client. For instance, when Torey hands over Sheila to the third-grade teacher, she ought to adopt a precise methodology such as the one outlined by the GIM. To accord Sheila effective attending skills, the instructor should listen to her carefully by making eye contact while administering the necessary cultural differences, listening to her thoughts and feelings, and using silence when necessary. Moreover, the model suggests that a decision can be made to decide if the agency and the worker can help and later orient the client to the help process. It is, therefore, necessary to negotiate with clients on the frequencies of sessions, timing and the location of tasks, especially when exercising social work in the mezzo and macro scopes (Dewees & Lax, 2008). While the core elements of the engagement phase are integral in realizing the efficiency of the GIM model, all provisions may not apply to every client based on the age and the reasoning capability of the client.
The GIM model follows an assessment procedure where understanding a client’s problem, its causes, and what can be done to resolve it prevails. As such, it is crucial to establish a clear statement of need, the problem or the situation. On a micro outlook, the problem is precisely related to a single person while in mezzo, it requires articulating conventional problem among the cohort. This enables the formulation of a clear description of the client's system where the missing information can be determined and put together. The model then shifts the planning part, which involves working with the client in problem-prioritizing approach leading to the translation of the problem into needs, which then aids in setting goals and specifying the particular objectives the program aims at achieving. For instance, diminishing the traumatic inclinations implanted on Sheila would be a clear focus for the assessment. This follows a specification of the plans the social worker wants to track before formalizing an amicable contract. The assessment follows the implementation stage, which involves developing the plan and monitoring the progress of the client. If there is a reason to revise the plan, it is instituted to ensure the completeness of the model.
GIM gives evaluation procedures in varieties: single subject design, goal attainment scaling, task achievement, task-achievement scaling, client satisfaction questionnaire, and target –problem scaling. To this end, Sheila’s case can be evaluated through goal attainment and task achievement scaling where the social worker determines the threshold upon which she has achieved low trauma instances, high self-esteem, and the retraction of her sobriety. Additionally, the model implies that termination of the exercise should happen based on the evaluation process. Whether the social practice entails a Micro, Mezzo, or Macro scopes, termination depends on the decision made by the social worker while making appropriate referrals for the procedure. Finally, making follow-ups on the client’s whereabouts is necessary to actively represent them, discuss their problems, and straighten out any prevalent difficulties.
The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) defines a code of ethics that guide the social workers in beholding the social work code of ethics (Ripsch, 2013). It is necessary for social workers to abide by the principles of efficient working as provided in this code at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels of the social work profession. Particularly, NASW Code of Ethics includes four sections; the preamble, purpose of the code, ethical principles, and the ethical standards ("JSU | Social Work | NASW Code of Ethics Summary," 2018). The code specifies six core values that guide the social work profession such as service, social justice, dignity and worth of the individual, the importance and the worth of human relationships, integrity, and competence. In this regard, a social worker should primarily help people in need to address their social problems and challenge any social injustices prevailing in this pursuit. This, for instance, confirms the efforts put by Torey and her lawyer husband in challenging the decision by the state hospital to take Sheila into custody before she was through with her care. Finally, social workers should expend their expertise within their areas of competence and professional prowess to ultimately achieve amicable results.
References
Dewees, M., & Lax, L. K. (2008). A critical approach to pedagogy in mental health. Social Work in Mental Health , 7 (1-3), 82-101.
JSU | Social Work | NASW Code of Ethics Summary. (2018). Retrieved from http://www.jsu.edu/socialwork/career/NASW_Code_of_Ethics.html
Marlowe, M. (2006). Torey Hayden's teacher lore: a pedagogy of caring. Journal of Education for Teaching , 32 (1), 93-103.
Marlowe, M. (2011). The relationship-driven classroom: The stories of Torey Hayden. Reclaiming Children and Youth , 20 (1), 10.
Ripsch, J. (2013). National Association of Social Workers (NASW). Encyclopedia of Special Education: A Reference for the Education of Children, Adolescents, and Adults with Disabilities and Other Exceptional Individuals .
